Gimme

I have been accused of asking for things a lot on this blog (ahem), but I really just love window shopping, and making wish lists! Probably one of my most favorite things to do, and with the lovely wonders of the Internet it is so much easier! Here are a few of the things I will for sure, maybe be begging for this Christmas.

Acorn cakelet pan. For the acorn and squirrel lovers in this house. I kinda think I might die if I don't get this pan!

Envirosax collection in Planet Green. My WalMart shoppers are getting tired and floppy, and since I don't shop at WalMart anymore it makes me feel silly to go into Target with them! Plus they are bulky and these come in a set with a small pouch to keep them in. No more giant black bulk of bag!

Handmade Home by Amanda Soule. I want this book so badly I have already started collecting materials to make some of the projects included in there! I am loving the idea of reusing old things and I am really trying to teach my kids the beauty of it too! Can't wait to get sewing with this one. (that's my positive wishful thinking right there)

This print just jumped out at me when I was art surfing ETSY. I love that it's just a woman and her husband selling prints to make a little extra money. And of course now I read her blog to get to know a little more about her. I am pretty sure one of these will end up in our bedroom. I am trying to put together an art wall with little sweet things (more about that AFTER Christmas), and I think this would go quite nicely!

This yellow dresser from IKEA. Obviously WAY to pricey for us right now, but oh DEAR how I love it! I am on the hunt for an old fixer upper than I can just paint this lovely shade of yellow. My craft room is begging for it, to store all my fabric and things. Plus, it's just lovely!

Garaging

My new favorite thing to do is "garaging" as the kids call it, or shopping the garage sales. It started a few months back and we have great weeks and OK weeks. I have a weekend allowance of 10 bucks, and then I get to add to that if I win our weekly Bowers Bowl pot of $10 (and since I am pretty good, the last few weekends have left me with $20 to spend on good finds). Just this week I found probably the best deal so far, this little dresser for Natalie's room for only 5 bucks. I don't even need to paint it or change the nobs. All it needed was a little wipe down and it was ready to go.

So far I have collected a lovely plethora of vintage sheets (for quilt backs) and most of them came from one sale where I picked them up for 10 cents a piece, I have gotten multiple pieces of vintage Pyrex bake ware that sells for 10-15 dollars a piece on ETSY, and haven't spent more than $2 a piece. The kids have significantly increased their collection of small stuffies, never more than 50 cents a piece, and the best haul was a HUGE lot of mini Lego's (with Star Wars pieces!!) worth at least 60 dollars at Target for only $10. I actually got the Lego's this weekend, and I was both happy and sad. Happy I got such a steal, but sad because my hunting came to a close and it was only 8:30 in the morning! Haha.

Needless to say I am VERY addicted. Keith wonders how long it will take for this phase to pass, but I am having too much fun! It's all about the thrill of the hunt. I get literally giddy when I find a "treasure" that I have been searching for or hoping for. Like a vintage nut grinder for only 50 cents (woot!) or a "Texas Trike" for Brady that actually fits his long legs for less that 25% what it would have cost new.

Do any of you go garaging? Found any good deals lately? If not, I encourage you to try it out, one good find and you will be hooked!

Day One

Yesterday was quite a day! I woke up knowing I wanted to do something fun, and decided that since the kids ask at least once a week, that we would finally head up to the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco. We haven't been there in awhile and they do love when we get to make the trip. This time was so nice because they are both old enough to use all the stuff there, and to really go and play on their own. So it was nice because I got some much needed reading time!

After tiring them out there, we had to stop by IKEA for lunch and a bit of shopping, you can't drive all the way to Frisco and not go to IKEA. It helps that I keep a wish list of IKEA things at all times, just in case we ever make it up there. It was our lucky day because kids lunches just happened to be free! Gotta love free lunch! The kids also decided that they finally wanted to try out Smaland (the in store children's play area), so we browsed around the upstairs (the kids love to look at the "houses") and then when I went downstairs to pick up my stuff I put them in Smaland for an hour! It's so nice to actually shop at IKEA without having to keep track of the kids. I could look at whatever I wanted, as long as I was back to get them in under an hour. It was nice to finally get a few things I had been saving for. Including some curtains for Brady, and some picture frames for an art project I have in mind. Of course the material (the white/green/black combo) I have been coveting was sold out. And now I am wondering what project I could make with a little of this material, I just love those colors together! I guess that means we will have to go back up there again sometime soon.

After IKEA we headed home to rest until Daddy came home. I was sure our day was done, but I had forgotten family home evening! And I got a wild hair and decided it was a perfect night to make some quick sugar cookies. Whew! I am glad we did, because the kids love getting to use the sprinkles, but dang! What a day. It is a lot of fun to run run run sometimes, but you can bet that we are just hanging around the house today, hanging some curtains, and making some art!

Galoshes!

They are one of those things that living here I just can't justify buying. Yes we get some major rainage, but it's just not often enough to spend money on boots. But of course, getting prepped for this trip had me searching the web for some cutie patootie boots for the kids, you know, just in case. Pretty sure I won't be able to convince Keith that we NEED them though. It was still fun to look!

I actually ended up at Target.com. I love these for Natalie. Like seriously, a bow! polka dots! hot pink and black! Could the BE any cuter?

I loooove these, in fact I wouldn't mind a pair in my size! But, they don't have Nat's size available anyways.
These little robot ones are super duper cute for Brady.
Except these are the ones he has actually SEEN and asked for in the store. They are definitely little boy!
Oh, and not sure why I am posting so dang much today, I blame the Diet DP!

It's a summer miracle!

Out with the old teal truck and in with....

OUR NEW VAN!!

To some of you this is old news, because I am a slacker and haven't posted about it, but for the rest of you here it is! We decided that since the truck was totalled in the car accident (did I blog about that??) it was time to upgrade and get ourselves a van. And oh what a glorious van it is! It's a Dodge Grand Caravan, and it was the first kind of van I ever wanted (the second was a Town and Country, but apparently those are more expensive for the same amenities), and it has everything we could have ever hoped for, plus more!

We named her Maxine, Max for short, since we got her at CarMax (clever, no? haha), and we couldn't be more thrilled! I wanted to get a picture of her outside, but it just wasn't happening, so this one will have to do.
I looooooove the stow and go seats, that second captains chair just folded neatly into the van to give us so much more space to get in and out. This is exactly what I wanted it to be like, room to move around!
And a nice little spot for my market basket to keep it looking nice and neat (we will see how long that lasts).
I had a sad realization the other day when I initially announced this great bit of news on facebook before I posted it here, my poor blog has taken seat on a back burner for far too long (at least I know I am not alone in this). I used to love blogging, I posted almost daily, and had fun keeping track of the day to day minutia of our lives. Though I do think anyone that reads my blog needs to get on facebook and find me, (that means you family!), I also have committed to myself to find the time much more often to share what is going on with us Texas Bowers. So any of you that are still reading, keep coming back for more mundane stories from the house of Bowers.

little things

Perfectly perfect crockery found at a random garage sale, to match our fairy plates. Lovely cupcakes from a friend at church.

"sweets"

Lounging in my favorite socks. Easter clearance baby.

Mother's day bling. The long hoped for teeny tiny initials necklace, by Lisa Leonard.

My first noodle necklace. I wear it proudly.

Also: Getting to see a good friend's new wee one, french toast and strawberries for breakfast in bed, a long nap, pretty pictures made just for me, and all the hugs and kisses and cuddles a Mama could ever dream for.

For a dollar

Brady and I got to take a walk, meet some neighbors, and hit up his first ever garage sales. We kinda got lucky as there were two going on right down the street. Score! No good material or anything, but we did get a few good thrifting finds.

Two tiny, fairy green plates that are just screaming for a tea party (and maybe a cupcake or two...) and some retro books. Brady just had. to. have. the red one. It's called Jet's Choice...no clue what it is about! But, it was 25 cents and I said he could pick out any treasure he wanted, better than the Styrofoam pumpkin he had his eye on at the first house.
The second book is my favorite! It's an old text book from the 50's and I love the illustrations, the cover, the whole thing. I think it may even have some great stories in it!
I think I may have to start garage sale hopping more often!

Stay-cation: day 2

One of the main things I wanted to get done while Keith and Brady were gone was to unpack the house and really fix up Brady's room. He lost all the places to store his little bits and toys when we moved due to them now being in Natalie's room so he was in major need of some organizational things to store his toys. I found a few cute baskets at Target, but I really wanted to get up to IKEA. So Friday was IKEA day. After sleeping in, running to the insurance office (they refunded 80 of the 120 that I spent on getting the keys out of the car, I love my insurance office) and to Keith's old office to get his last paycheck (did I mention he got a new job?? More on that later!) we were on our way up to the great big blue store in the sky. I love that store! We found all we went for, even Brady's big boy chair, plus a few more fun things. Like one of these, but pink and half the price, and this for all Brady's small animals. I was pretty proud of myself for resisting this or this and these (aren't those cool?). Not this trip at least. Maybe another time...

After the shopping extravaganza it was back home for naps and a quick dinner. Then out for pedicures! I had a gift certificate from Christmas so I used that, and it was so much fun to take Natalie. Of course, she is probably too young, and I don't want her to get used to getting them, but it is the perfect activity for a girls weekend! I actually let her get her finger nails painted too, and I am glad I did. She looks precious. Though she wont let me take a picture of our piggies together, so this is a pictureless post.

After nails, it was off to Wal Mart to get vitamins, toothpaste, nothing fun. But we did get a redbox...High School Musical 3. She was exhausted by the time we got home so after a quick bath she crashed, and I watched it on my own. Um...LOVED IT, but I am a sucker for Disney. Though now I know why everyone is drooling over Zac Efron...ahem.

Anywho. Friday was a good day. Full of stuff, just going and going! And lots of spoiling going on this weekend, but what can I say? It's not like we do this all the time, like NEVER, and I want to keep busy anyways. Keeps me from missing Keith and Brady.

We made it!

Well, we are in! We made it, the move went super fast this morning, faster than we thought it would, because for the first time in all of our moves we actually had helpers! It was awesome! (thanks to all those that let their husbands come!) The boxes made a very nice mountain in the front room (of course I forgot to get a picture), but after a looooong day, we have made some serious progress. I am so excited for another productive day tomorrow.

Moving is a lot of work! I grew up moving around a lot and I was aware of the inconvenience, or so I thought! It is a lot harder when YOU are the parent! I just wanted to drop in, let everyone know that we made it, Internet is working, phones are working, new appliances* are working. Loving it!

For Jenny

*I was too slow with the poll. I have to honestly say, I totally would have gone with the majority of votes for the washer/dryer color, but Sears called Keith for a decision too soon, and since he knew I wanted the teal ones, those are the ones he got for me. And you know, it IS a treat for me. They are my first ever appliances, and I love them! Oh, and you know what makes them even more fun? They aren't teal, the official color of the set is "twilight"! Hahaha! Seriously!

*sigh*

I am a bargain hunter. I LOVE a good find in the clearance department. And oft times I get some super great things that I could never, or would never have spent the full price on. One of them being my pretty cake plate/dip tray that I used for Natalie's cake here, and I got to use it once for a friend's going away party (and Missy took a rad picture of it here, and a cute one of Nat too...I think I need that one..anywho). I found it on clearance after Easter last year and I fell instantly in love. It's bright and springy, and I knew it would be perfect for Natalie's birthday every year. I was just over the moon happy about it.

And so with much dismay, I show you this.

Poor sweet Keith was cleaning up after the last of the birthday cake was gone and it slipped out of his fingers and clonked into the sink. I have to say I was heartbroken, just a little bit. Keith felt so terrible, I couldn't get mad, of course, he was being so sweet to clean up. But darn it all! At least I got to use it once for both purposes. And I will always have that great picture of Natalie blowing out her birthday candles. Some good advice I heard once, "we don't love things, we love people", but MAN I sure did really like that plate!

All growed up.

Well, I had a little accident today...I washed my cell phone in my pants pocket. That's never a good thing. Funnily enough Keith and I were going to go to the AT&T store to get our numbers changed to our own plan earlier today, but we ran out of time. I guess today was the day! So I headed down to AT&T after naps and we are now the proud owners of our very own cell phone bill. My parents had been paying for it while we were in school, so that was VERY nice. And let me tell you it was a shocker when we saw how much our bill will be, even with the smallest amount of monthly minutes, still...WOWSAS!

Anywho, the best part? We got some SWEET phones, for cheap. We got LG Vus and they are so cool! Touch screen and everything! Woo hoo! We are joining the big leagues now. We even splurged on unlimited texting! (so if you aren't AT&T, text us, hahaha, because we only get 700 minutes a month!)

Oh, and I lost all my numbers with my old phone, so yeah, please email me your numbers! Cause I don't have them!! (and I want to start texting, hahaha)

Do it!

If you haven't gone over there to check it out, I say get thee hence! (does that even make sense? haha!) Primp and Tell is doing ANOTHER giveaway, plus the info there is really great! I'm telling ya these ladies know what they are talking about!

Daddy is gone

...and now it's time to play! Well, kind of. The kids were pretty sad right when Keith left, but being able to spend some time with him Monday morning before he left for the hotel was good. He is staying at the hotel so that he can focus. Study when he wants, eat when he wants, sleep when he wants (and not worry about being woken up by crying babies with growing pains or scary dreams). I think it was a wise choice. Though we are missing him like crazy, this is better for everyone.

I tried to keep the afternoon fun, and dinner fun too. We had breakfast for dinner, I took their orders and served it up on our cafeteria trays! Kids eat SO MUCH BETTER when they choose what they are going to eat! They ate every bit, not a single complaint or trace of scrambled cheese eggs, muffins, applesauce, apple slices, cinnamon sugar toast, juice, or water left on those plates!

After dinner they danced around and played while I cleaned the kitchen (ugg). We went to the store this morning to spend some gift money both kids had saved up. Natalie came home with a Hannah Montana mic that sings and Brady picked out a cool Cars race track that came with a play Frank the combine. So he is over the moon excited about that one! I am not sure how long that mic will last...it's starting to bug. Big time.

Of course we also got Natalie her first pair of summer shoes (and shorts and a shirt)! They are SOOOO cute, same style as her polka dot shoes, but a different fabric, and um, I want some!
Then I caught Brady feeding his Michael. Oh dear. So cute. And then he tucked Michael and glow worm down for a nap. Complete with kisses. *sigh* I love this boy. And since I have the worst memory ever, that is about it for what we have been doing. The last 2 months have been a blur for me, all kids all the time, and I am SO GLAD that it is almost over. I know Keith will do well, I KNOW he will do well, and come Thursday...par-tay time! We're going out for steak and fun and RELAXATION!

primp and tell

Holy crap. Two of my friends just launched a brand spankin' new website for all of us women. It is called Primp and Tell. I am so excited about it, and I think you will be too! Spread the word and watch these ladies for great tips, tricks and advice on all things girly!

and for the life of me i can't get this button to center dang it, but still! go there, look around, and tell your friends!

Perfect Paper Dolls {and other fun things}

Oh, how happy I was when I checked my blog updates this morning and The Black Apple posted about these precious new creations of hers. These are the next things on my {Black Apple} wishlist. I imagine framing them and putting them in my craft/creating room. They are truly made to actually cut up and use, but I just don't think I could! Enjoy the pictures in a larger size here on her blog, or cry a little here at the fact that they are all sold out. I hope, hope, hope these are going to be a staple in her shop so I can snatch up a set when the time (and money) is right!
Of course that got me to browsing ETSY, and I couldn't help but share a few things I had to add to my favorites.


Perfect for some little monkeys! Mini monkey flap hat. More adorable hat goodies in her shop. Oh and don't even get me started on THESE. Kill me now.

I thought this print was really cool and modern, she has some other neat things in her shop. And other colors of this same photo. I also like the Love One Another print.
I have just been admiring this pretty felt wallet for so long made by one of my all time favorite people I don't know. Wishcake has created such sweet things, and she does special orders if you contact her! I am waiting for a small pocket for my mp3 player. I may just have to order one soon.


And these recycled crayons are just the coolest!

Christmas Day

I've been called out on my blog slacking ways. I never forget all you family that read this, and I am sorry I just haven't been able to force myself to sit here and blog about it all. I will start with Christmas day, but I have many other posts in the works. So if you're interested check back often in the next few days while I get it all down!

I was able to get one picture of the Christmas morning tree before my memory card filled up and I set my camera aside and forgot to unload the card until later in the morning. So no pictures of the unwrapping of the presents, video, but no pictures. Looks like Santa delivered! I see a Cinderella computer and a Thomas train under there!

Yep! Natalie got her Cinderella computer and even the gray pony that she asked Santa for. I don't think I need to tell you how excited she was! And she loves it, it isn't TOO hard or TOO easy, and she picked up how to do all the games on her own. Yay for learning!
You can also see some of Mom and Dads presents. I didn't take a loot shot of the goodies that Keith and I got, darn it! I like to have those for posterity sake, lol! But Keith had a very Cowboys Christmas. He got the History of the Cowboys DVD, Cowboys golf stuff, Cowboys nightlight, Cowboys lunchbox, and some other fun movies and candy and things. Oh! And the paver for the new stadium that says "The Bowers Fans Forever" on it. Coolest. Present. Ever! And a sweet set of 25th anniversary Phase 10 cards in a cool metallic case.

Mom got some movies, gift cards, kitchen things (tiny ramekins to make pot pies or molten lava cake), some great storage containers for my scrapbook stuff, and the best gift? An MP3 player! Yay! We can't afford anything too fancy, but Keith found this great Phillips one that is TINY, it fits in the palm of my hand and I love it! It has video capacity and can store pictures, and is probably the most high tech thing we own, other than the wii! He totally surprised me with that one.

Brady got lots and lots of Cars Megabloks. I like them because they are Cars and he has to create with them! Lots of building going on over here!

I forgot to take a picture of all the paper and fun chaos, but here is our living room for most of Christmas day! Nat loves that fairy woodland house!
Brady's loot. Books, Lego's, school bus from Natalie, Cars stuff, movies, etc. Fun stuff!
Natalie's loot (and Mommies scrap storage, minus the pony and the computer). Groovy girls, books, fairies and house, puzzle, dolly from Brady, coloring calendar, etc. Funny one of the most played with things is probably the little tic tac toe from the dollar section at Target. And one of my favorite things they got was from Aunt Danielle (& Co.), she sent each a nice book with a coordinating pillow case to match. I am totally stealing that idea!
It was a fun day, a little lonely without all the hustle and bustle of extended family, but nice in that it was just us, with no where to go, and nothing to do but play all day. I want to thank all the family that sent gifts, those were some of the best things under the tree because they were surprises to all of us!

Giving Handmade

For some reason I really have been on a kick to have more handmade made in America things in the house. One gift I knew I really wanted to get Brady was a bunch of wooden acorns, first seen here, for him to play with. He is in love with squirrels and they are always on the hunt for real acorns, and I really thought some wooden ones would be fun. So today I finally made a drawstring pouch to keep them in, and I am very happy with how it turned out! I did a double drawstring so he can pull both sides, and it is easier for him to close. I can't wait for him to open it on Christmas! At least he will have one handmade gift under the tree! It will balance out all the Cars Mega bloks he is getting.

Score!

I have been searching high and low for a new coat. Not too heavy, but not too light. And I finally found one! I am so excited and can't wait to wear it out! I got it at Kohl's and it was on major sale. They have lots of cute ones available so if you are looking try there!

Christmas Pretties

Sometimes at work I get lucky to have a slow-ish night and I get to browse the Internets for pretty things. And of course since it is Christmas time there are an abundance of pretty things out there! Here are are a few things that are on my dream wish list this season.

Anthropologie has some really cute monogram stuff here. I especially love these plates and these little ornaments. Oh and their kitchen stuff is to die for! So pretty and whimsical.

I have also been long time drooling over Lisa Leonard Designs handmade jewelry. Her things are so so pretty, and she makes each and every one. Precious! I really like three of them and am completely torn as to my favorite. I am leaning towards the tiny solid circles, with a "K", "N" and "B" of course!

And of course Target has out their Christmas home decorating things. There whole line of Be Merry stuff is adorable. I am in love, love, love with the blue snowflake serving dishes. Of course, not that I need a whole set of special Christmas dishes, but DANG they are cute! But, you can always use another tray or serving bowl, right? Right.

I also really love the Dots collection. Look at these tumblers, and these fun plates. And man! I just found these. These little trays are adorable and only available online. Sad! That means I can't admire them in the store.

Super cute stuff, and so much more out there! Happy window shopping!